Floating dock



M. MLLER.

` FLoATlNe nocK'.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.22, 1 921. l

1,413,603. I Pafnted Apr. 25,A vl1922.

6 InUe-ncow narran star MAXM'LLER, or 1iAivrisunfofnRIvrAnrY.

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To all/whom t may concern: Be it known .that I, MAX MLLER, a citi- Zenof Germany, residing at Hamburg, Ger-v f for docking vessels whereverthere is a waterlevel of sufficient height. Vhen free from the waterballast they can be put, also with a vessel therein, alongside aquay-wall, crane,

and the like, even if there is existing but a low height of water. Inopposition to these advantages is the drawback that the vessels to bedocked must be brought in and out lengthwise, which necessitates aconsiderable clear space or water area in front and in the rear of thedock.

Docks of the off shore type -which have an L-shaped sectional elevation,permit the vessels to be brought in and out sideways. Such docks aretherefore available for wharfs or dock-yards which possess but arestricted front-line facing the water. This advantage, however, is bestobtained either by guiding such docks from the shore by parallel-motionlinks whereby the said docks become stationary and disproportionatelyexpensive, or by connecting them by a parallel-motion device to aseparate lateral auxiliary pontoon wherefrom results a loss or sacrificeof a great lateral clear area of the harbour.

The object of the present improvements is to produce a floating dockwhich combines the advantages of the above mentioned docks, but avoidsat the same time their drawbacks.

For this purpose the invention mainly consists in constructing only oneof the two side f pontoons of a floating dock throughout itsv lengthwith aside wall of suitable height, and in furnishing the other sidepontoon but with sidewall sections arranged some distance apart,preferably placedy at the ends ofthis pontoon, in order to leave betweenthem a gap or passage through which the vessel can be floated in and outsideways.

One may also imagine the Said side wall sections as a result fromnotching orY recessing to the desired or required depth and length acompleteside wall of a U-shaped floating dock.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented App, `Application filedOctober 22, 1921.: ,Seral No. 509,768. 1 -V A further featurev of theinvention fconsists in properly dimensioning the-breadth of the saidside wall sections or the remaining tower-like end parts of the notched`or re'- cessed side wall iny order that these end sections ensureincooperation with the bottom compartments the necessary stability of theweighted floating dock at any draught.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood by one skilledin the art to which it appertains, the same is now to be de-A scribed indetail with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings whereon is jrepresented in a diagrammatic manner, as an example, an embodimentof theimproved floating dock, Figure l being a plan view and Figure 2elevation on the line I-I of Fig. l'.

y Similar letters o-f reference refertosimilar parts'throughout theseveral views.

The floating dock comprises a left hand side rpontoon a carrying a sidewall al, a right hand side pontoon having a side wall b1, if any, and a;bottom pontoon b1 are erected up to the height of the wall a?.tower-like structures 0l and e forming each a continuation of the sidewallipontoont b1 and in communication therewith.

The vcross-sectional' area of the towersid a perspective cross-sectionalY subdivided by longitudinal bulk-heads c1 inand e is so dimensionedthat the said towers j ensure in cooperation with the longitudinalcompartments of the bottom pontoon a sufficient stability of theweighted floating dock at any draught. n

VThe vessels to be brought in and outy through the gap or lindentationbetween that in accordance .with the respective der an oblique angle. l

the towers d and e, and' docked and undocked are ,I

ico

ylength of the vessels either sideways or uny' 'As manychanges might bemade in the.

construction and relative arrangement of the different parts Withoutinvolving a departure from the spirit of Vmy invention, I

would have it understood that I do not limit.

myself to the exact description shown and described, but consider myselfat liberty to make such changes and alterations as fall withinthe scopeof my invention.

I claim:

l. A floating dock having in one of its otherwise substantially equallyhighk longitu'dinal Walls a gap of relatively large extent for thepassage of a vessel in more or less broadside-on manner.

2. A floating` dockeomprising a bottom pontoon and two side pontoons,one of the latter being provided throughout its length with a completeside Wall-and the other furnished with side Wall sections set somedistance apart to form between them a gap or passage for the vessel tobev docked o1' undocked.

3. A floating doek Comprising, a bottom pontoon subdivided intocompartments by bulkheads, a side pontoon having throughout its length acomplete side Wall of suitable-height, and a, second side pontoonprovided at each end with a side tower of corre sponding height.

4L. A floating doek comprising a bottom pontoon with compartments, aside pontoon With a completeside Wall thereon and a seeond side pontooncarrying a discontinued side Wall, the remaining sections of this latterbeing of a volume to ensure in cooperation with the bottom compartmentsthe stability o the floating doek at any draft.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature.

e MAX MLLER.

